The Journey
by BoomerReborn
Summary: PG-13 for a reason. Final Fantasy-like beyond all belief. :D Chapter Six has... well, one battle, technically. But it makes up a great sequence with some lovely metaphors and character development! Enjoy! :D
1. Prologue: The Land and The Magic

1 Journey  
  
By: Boomer (Reborn)  
  
Introduction One: The Land  
  
This world that the king oversaw was the world known to its inhabitants as Terina, meaning "Our Land Of Good" in the old language.  
  
And his country, was Redithan, greatest of all the nations.  
  
He looked down from the citadel at the kingdom's capital city. He sighed in recognition, the spires that he himself had signed to be built.  
  
His was a peaceful world. A world where all the countries had long since made a pact to join and be one real nation, but to keep them evenly divided. They would share resources, military training against the few nations that did not agree to be one nation on the planet, and they wouldn't interfere with research unless it was a weapon of global destruction.  
  
So far, this plan had worked.  
  
Until the demon appeared…  
  
The possessed minion had tricked the Wizard Utoniun into using a release spell, unleashing the demon known as "HIM of Wrath". HIS real name was not known. HE was simply HIM who brought the Wrath.  
  
Utoniun used a spell to bind the demon within the castle, but in the process, the king, Mayre, and his queen, Bellem, were also sealed within.  
  
A brave knight known as Adrian Quel, who was responsible for many great tasks was to be sought out, until it was found that the knight's mentor, Moujo Jougo, was held under the demon's powerful spells.  
  
Moujo Jougo himself was said to have done battle with the knight, and using the demon's seemingly endless power, defeated him.  
  
The knight had been flung to the outskirts of the kingdom, and some said his memory was erased.  
  
All was hopeless for the King, it seemed. The knight was the only one, they knew, who could help. But not one person had ever seen Adrian's face without a helmet, donned for battle, so they knew not who to look for.  
  
New heroes were needed.  
  
  
  
Introduction Two: The Magic  
  
Found early in the world, there was a source of power, called The Magik. This huge stone was imbued with every form of magic that the Ancients used.  
  
Unfortunately, the greedy following generations cut the stone into millions of tiny pieces, imbuing specific attributes to each one. These Manites could be up to four on a person, seeing as the attempts at magic manipulations of five made the user combust spontaneously.  
  
In time, the Manites were hoarded by the wise King Mayre, storing them all in a safe place, to embrace the magics the Ancients once used.  
  
However, there was one who did not believe, and who stole thousands of the Manites, but was killed shortly after by an overuse of them.  
  
The resulting explosion scattered these Manite stones across the kingdom, and now many have found the rare "Rouge Manites".  
  
To sum up the magic system, only three can be used at one time. There are four levels for each stone, and the higher the levels, the greater power they have. A stone may run out of power, and need to recharge. The stones themselves, in other words, provide the user with 'mana'. The stones provide six spells with each combination of three. One for each stone, two for the pairing of two within the three and one spell that utilizes all three stones.  
  
  
  
With the telling of magics and land, the story begins… 


	2. Chapter One: New Heroes 1

Journey  
  
By: Boomer(Reborn)  
  
Chapter One – New Heroes '1'  
  
  
  
Part 1: Bubbles  
  
Angelique Dickenson was a girl who confused herself. She was nineteen. She knew what she was doing was wrong, as she stood in front of all the beer swills, idiots, general men. She slowly removed the small cloth lining that covered her upper body. The catcalls grew louder now.  
  
She always knew she had a weapon no man could beat. No woman, either, seeing as men would always uphold their honors to her, no matter how short.  
  
She now walked leisurely across the small stage, showing off what made her… female. The men jeered, leered, leaped wildly. She knocked them offstage playfully each time they tried to attempt to come on.  
  
She knew how to control them. She knew they wouldn't contradict her. She was in power… at last.  
  
She left the rundown bar at about nine o'clock, our time. She had a scrape on her shoulder. She still had her power.  
  
She fixed her hair, putting it back into the large pigtails she always wore. Her massive blue eyes shining retribution, and anger, and even a bit of smugness.  
  
She slowly walked home, knowing what she'd receive when she arrived. "How could you?" and "Why?" and, she hated this especially, "You're better than that!"  
  
She scowled. Why didn't they get it? She was utilizing her best weapon. It didn't matter if she knew how to work a staff to her defense, when needed, or perhaps a dagger, for she contained the advantage that all men craved.  
  
Still, she thought to herself, there's no respect in this world. The whole world believed she was filthy, even slutty… but no. She did this to protect herself… She wouldn't be hurt by anyone. No. Not anymore. Now, she was ready for it.  
  
Her weapon, her method of defense… No one could rebuke it.  
  
She silently thought, I'm like a bubble, tainted by the dirt of the world. One who won't pop, no matter what strains to get inside. She laughed inside. Yes, that's who I am.  
  
"Bubbles."  
  
  
  
Part 2: Buttercup  
  
Catherine. That was who she was. Now eighteen, if she remembered correctly. Always the odd one out, and always the one in trouble. She hated that orphanage. As soon as she could, she had gotten on one of the rare trains that passed by.  
  
She remembered the hag Tabitha, always blaming her. Something about that woman troubled her, as if she knew something about Catherine that she, herself, did not.  
  
She now walked alone, from the small train station, which had stopped at a tiny wooded village. Trains were the only transportation that majored from every town. That, and paths through the woods. Catherine had heard rumors of airships, but she didn't believe them. Boats were only used by the port cities, obviously enough, and that is where she needed to go.  
  
For some reason, she felt a longing to go across the sea, for it beckoned her. She remembered that on a trip the orphanage had taken to a faraway beach, she had jumped into a deep pool, and nearly drowned.  
  
She did regret leaving the one woman at the orphanage whom genuinely seemed to love her… She never knew her real name, for the woman insisted on calling her "Nana". She would come late at night, and tell stories of heroes, wizards, and bravery. She would always call Catherine her 'dear little buttercup'. She would sneak in food for Catherine, and often, she would wink at Catherine, who knew that something wonderful would happen just around the corner…  
  
She regretted leaving Nana, who had been the only one who bothered to teach her. But she remembered that the night before she left, Nana told her something very cryptic. Just talking about her leaving, the old woman began to tear up, but she would assure her that she knew she had to leave.  
  
"Maybe you'll know why some things are meant not to be, dear. Pray the sea guides you well."  
  
…What could she mean?  
  
She trudged onward, ever closer to the town of Ragdim, when she decided to make herself an alias. She'd need one, no person would trust a woman with any family. She'd simply make a name. Her mind, still swirling of thoughts, could find but one name.  
  
"My name… is Buttercup Catherine."  
  
  
  
Part 3: Butch  
  
Ronnar Cetse ran through an alleyway, cries of, "STOP, THIEF!" and "MISCREANT!" behind him.  
  
He had just swiped the man's wallet, quite easily, if he did say so himself. He ran, and as he ran, he pulled off his coat, and tucked it off to a fellow thief, who made a small gesture with his hands as a symbol to let him have the coat.  
  
Ronnar knew this wasn't a real sign of helpfulness. The thief wanted the coat. Honor among thieves existed, if it was small. He ran still, and pulled out a hat as he turned a corner. He put it on, and then a pair of fake glasses. He was now indistinguishable from any other pedestrian.  
  
This was his life, stealing, and selling, and to cover it up, he'd say to the 'customers' in a laughing manner, "Oh, Butch got it for me." He did this so often, the customers would grin and reply, "Oh, and how's Butch doing today?"  
  
The man who he had just stolen from walked up to him, an angry look on his face. Ronnar gulped ever so slightly.  
  
"Did you see a boy go by here?"  
  
"No, sir."  
  
The man eyed him suspiciously.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"I saw several kids running off that way, sir."  
  
"…All right."  
  
Disaster averted, thought Ronnar. He wandered off, and quickly found the thief who had taken his coat, who waved him down in the crowd.  
  
He easily got it back, tossing the thief a few coins from the man's wallet. The thief only grinned, and wandered off, disappearing in the crowd. It was nearing the end of the day, however, so Ronnar moved towards his destination.  
  
He wandered to an old alleyway, where he'd meet this night's 'customer'. He'd have to finish this quickly, Morris always closed the shop around sunset.  
  
There was Thomas. He grinned at Ronnar.  
  
"Ah, Ronnar, Butch's doing well, I presume?"  
  
"As always, Thomas. All is well with Butch."  
  
  
  
Author's Note: How're the characters so far? Three more to go, then we can further set up the story. 


	3. Chapter Two: New Heroes 2

1 Journey  
  
By: Boomer(Reborn)  
  
Chapter Two – New Heroes '2'  
  
Part 1: Brick  
  
Ow… thought… who was he, anyway? My head…He arose from the rocks, aching, his body broken.  
  
He looked around, seeing sand, and ocean. The beach, he thought. What am I doing here?  
  
Stumbling along, not realizing that the heavy armor on him had saved him from the death of being dashed on those rocks. He let it drop off of him, broken.  
  
Who am I? He thought. The question haunted him. He had a word, but he couldn't grasp it.  
  
He fell, bloodied, to the sand, not even noticing the man who rushed down to him, and, with the help of his oldest son, heaved him up, and moved them to their house.  
  
The man looked down, as the young man, maybe twenty in age. Semi- conscious, it appeared. Blinking, the man said, "You okay, son?"  
  
Here, the man mumbled something in almost a whisper, but the kind gentleman heard it, and was puzzled.  
  
He awoke, in the guest bed a day later, his head pounding. Slowly, the man's wife walked in, and noticed he was aware.  
  
"Ah! You're awake, dear. We found you out by the beach, we surely did. All bruised and beaten up, that was you. My Jacob told me you kept saying 'Brick', and then something unintelligible, for some reason. Is that your name?"  
  
"I…have no idea."  
  
"Bless me, amnesia."  
  
"I suppose it's my name. It has to be."  
  
"Brick, then?"  
  
Brick thought to himself.  
  
Brick…  
  
That was enough for him.  
  
"Yes, my name is Brick."  
  
  
  
Part 2: Boomer  
  
Morris Tyrne blinked, and looked up. There was Ronnar, who just came in the door.  
  
"Hey! How're you, Morris?"  
  
Morris could only give Ronnar the same smile, the one that told Ronnar everything was 'as good as it's getting'. Ronnar flipped a large bundle onto the workbench.  
  
"How's the work on them machines of yours?"  
  
Morris was a mechanic, heavily learned in machinery, and, for fuel purposes, he was working in bits of alchemy. He dreamed of making a machine that could outrun the fastest trains, or boats.  
  
"Morris, are you daydreaming again?" Ronnar tapped on Morris' head.  
  
"'Ey! Watch it."  
  
"Well, answer me, fer Pete's sake."  
  
"Hm, just wondering if a mix of oil celluloid and-"  
  
"Don't get into them potions with me, Morris. I don't want to know anything sciency."  
  
Morris was infamous for trying out fuel combustions, and failing at it multiple times, usually in the form of whatever machine he was trying the fuel on exploding.  
  
"I'm going to hit the hay. Dunno if I should take a day off."  
  
"Well, old friend, before you go, what 'business' did you attend to?"  
  
"Ah! I almost forgot. Er, Butch got me this wallet, 'ere. And I pass off a load of coins to Thomas, and I look in the wallet for anything leftover, and there were a few Manites!"  
  
Morris blinked, astonished.  
  
"What would that man Butch got the wallet from be having Manites?"  
  
"Who cares? We've now got magic!" Ronnar held up the small stones.  
  
Morris nodded thoughtfully. "Hmm, them'll come in handy, for sure."  
  
Ronnar shrugged a bit. "I don't know what powers they have, though."  
  
"That's because you're a imbecile, Ronnar."  
  
"'Ey!"  
  
"Let me see 'em."  
  
Grudgingly, Ronnar handed over the four stones. Morris put them down on a table, and opened a tiny notebook.  
  
"Let's see… this orange and green one, it's good with plants."  
  
Morris picked it up, and pointed it at the tiny houseplant on his table.  
  
Almost immediately, the plant began to grow rapidly.  
  
"Ah!"  
  
He set the stone down, the plant's growth once again invisible at its slow pace.  
  
"And this 'un, this black and misty one, good for shadows… Hmm. This turquoise one has ice properties, I believe. And this pale red one looks like it's good for mild fire."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I know, different 'levels' of ability for the Manites, if they're used frequently.'  
  
"This isn't a bad thing. Quite nice, really. I'll be able to spark the fires in my machines easier."  
  
"And shadows! What an interesting thing that is!"  
  
Ronnar opened the bundle. It was full of groceries.  
  
"A bit of bread and cheese?"  
  
"Ah, food."  
  
"Let us have a drink."  
  
They had a small dinner, and divided the Manites, plant and fire, Morris, shadows and ice, Ronnar.  
  
"And we have to go to Ragdim tomorrow, to get the machinery I need."  
  
"Ah, right, always the Boomer."  
  
"Heh. The Boomer, that's right."  
  
  
  
Part 3: Blossom  
  
Rebecca Dickenson was the top student, the peak of her classes. She was the leading student in just about everything. However, her dark secret was her father and his abusive ways with her younger sister. She remembered how she and her mother would simply ignore the sobs, and the cries to stop…  
  
She couldn't live with herself because of it. She, herself, had done the deed that finally did her father in. He came into Angelique's room, her last sobs not even in their dying phases, and as he was about to… WHAM! Rebecca had walked up and slammed the treadball bat into his side. He was too surprised to do anything. Rebecca called the police, and found out soon later that the injuries were terminal.  
  
…She had killed her own father with one, solid blow.  
  
Angelique's mind was too far gone, however, and though she escaped being committed, Rebecca thought sadly that she was either insane, or very close.  
  
She compensated for the loss by a sudden surge in academic prowess. Soon, she became the girl with the answers, who everyone wanted to know. No one knew about her father, because her mother, who testified that the father fell off the bed onto a broken area of the floor.  
  
Her entire life, she couldn't stand injustice. Only two years older than Angelique yet Rebecca seemed to embrace life tightly, to escape her own feelings.  
  
And tonight was like any other night in Ragdim, because Rebecca was studying. And she knew, at about ten-thirty, Angelique would-  
  
"I'm home!"  
  
"Why do you always do this to me?"  
  
"Come on, not again…" she sighed.  
  
"Because, you know what could happen!"  
  
"Oh, don't bitch at me, I've been seeing the local alchemist shop, proven immunities."  
  
"Still, don't you care for any respect? What if you get pregnant?"  
  
"First of all, respect is earned. And second of all, there are things known as birth control pills, Miss Blossom of the High-Life."  
  
Rebecca scowled, but then took on a pleading look.  
  
"If I'm a flower blossom, I'm waiting for light to return."  
  
Angelique rolled her eyes, and trotted off to her room.  
  
Rebecca puzzled her nickname, which she had been given a few years ago. Why was she a 'Blossom'?  
  
The sound of it was enthralling to her, because her greatest love in the flower world was the cherry blossom. Yet, she puzzled it, trying to wonder why it had been attributed to her without her realizing it.  
  
Fate, maybe?  
  
She thought of her nickname again, but couldn't help, unconsciously saying it out loud.  
  
"Blossom…" 


	4. Chapter Three: Ragdim Sequence

1 Journey  
  
By: Boomer(Reborn)  
  
Chapter 3 – Ragdim Sequence  
  
Morris maneuvered the Personal Automobile Transport (PAT) along the narrow streets of Ragdim, knowing full well of the rarity of the transports, and how valuable they were.  
  
He had obtained his few transports with a grant from governors in the surrounding towns, promising he'd built a machine, and the fuel to run it, that would be perfect transportation.  
  
Ronnar was a formidable defense, however, so Morris would never worry. He wasn't really built for any combat, but Ronnar was just the size of perfect malice, as anyone he talked to would be sure to listen.  
  
* * *  
  
Catherine made her way into the busy streets, weary, and longing a good night's sleep after the long journey she'd made. A large motor vehicle shot by her, making her catch her breath, as it pulling into a mechanics shop near a… an inn! She hurried to it, wondering how she'd get a room with the little money Nana gave her.  
  
She walked quietly into the inn's lobby, looking around at its homey feel. A man stood by at the clerk desk. She nervously trotted over to him, and said, in a rather ragged voice, "How much are rooms here?"  
  
He blinked at her. "Well, eighty golds."  
  
She knew she didn't have that much. "Could we… make an arrangement? I need a place to stay…"  
  
He grimaced. "Ma'am, how much money do you have?"  
  
"Uh… only twenty golds?" she remarked sheepishly.  
  
"That is not enough to stay here, go-"  
  
"HAROLD!"  
  
Catherine turned to see a rather powerful-eyed woman looking sternly at the clerk.  
  
"…Y-yes, Gertrude, my loving and so beautiful wife?"  
  
"This girl is obviously starting out in life! You give her a room, this instant, we'll cover the charges!"  
  
"Yes, dear…"  
  
The woman looked at Catherine kindly. "You come with me, dear."  
  
Catherine was taken aback, but she was not about to waste this woman's hospitality.  
  
* * *  
  
Angelique and Rebecca left their house to go about the daily shopping of material they needed, like the few fresh loaves of bread they'd buy… And a few things needed fixing around the house, all the more reason to go out.  
  
"Why do I have to come?" Angelique said, rolling her eyes.  
  
"I want you to stay out of trouble."  
  
"…Fine, fine."  
  
Yet, as they worked their way toward the market, she saw a bit of black smoke in the distance… that's not the railroad… there is no railroad over in that area of the forest. She dismissed it with only the thought, That crazy inventor must be testing something again.  
  
* * *  
  
However, this was one of those rare times when Rebecca was wrong. It was not Morris, but a small-scale siege force sent from the now demonized capitol. Much had gone on in the week after HIM of Wrath had decided to take the world as an outpost for Hell.  
  
Being only a Balrog, he only had the capabilities to bring lesser demons to the world's threshold, but, nevertheless, this army of demons had enough force to siege the major cities of the world.  
  
Away from the big towns of the inner provinces, the smaller towns and villages had no idea what was going on, except for the absence of the mailcarrier motorcycles.  
  
This force was currently under the control of a sadistic demon by the name of Kaim, who had orders from his superior to establish a fort in the farther extent of land in the world.  
  
The assault would commence in just a few days. Soon, the world would be theirs.  
  
* * *  
  
Brick felt better after a few days, his amnesia still in its prime, however. The man who had picked him up lived at a farm nearby, his family had been on a trip to the beach when the found him.  
  
He couldn't understand something, though… He almost felt that something was preventing him… blocking him from accessing his memory. He felt that he should know who he was, and who he'd been… but it was a blank.  
  
The kind farmer tried jogging his memory with a geography refresher, so Brick knew about the land, and anything that might be familiar. But everything drew a blank. The farmer gave up, and Brick simply became a hand on the farm. He tended the crops, helped with the animals, and the children loved him, for he'd always let them try and discover where he came from.  
  
Soon, on the third day, the farmer said to him, "Brick, we're going into Ragdim tomorrow for market, and we want you to come with us. Seeing a city may make you remember."  
  
Brick was inclined to oblige the man, for he had saved him while his mind had no awareness.  
  
"Alright, tomorrow, we go to Ragdim."  
  
  
  
Author Note: This chapter I named a sequence for a good reason. Tell me how I did! I'll be uploading this fic in bits and pieces, slowly, so I can get good response. The first four installments, Prologue to Chapter Three, I'll upload now. Stay tuned for the first battle: The Siege of Ragdim! 


	5. Chapter Four: First Attack

1 The Journey  
  
By: Boomer(Reborn)  
  
Chapter 4 – First Attack  
  
Kaim had his army prepared… soon, the catapults would be within range… the siege would begin.  
  
He laughed deeply, as he overlooked the bustling city in front of him, unaware that it would soon feel HIS pure Wrath.  
  
His subordinate told him that nary half an hour would pass before the human city would begin to crumble.  
  
Little did he know how much trouble this city would be.  
  
* * *  
  
Brick and the family had entered the city as planned, but the city was in a state of mild anxiety, so deals in the market were hard won. The whole uproar was that someone had seen an army on the ridge of the hills surrounding Ragdim. Many officials dispersed that this was a rumor, but the smoke clouds seen from the hills had grown blacker throughout the day, and had increased steadily in numbers.  
  
Brick eyed the smoke nervously. The farmer looked back at him.  
  
"Yeah, I see it too, son. We'll be leaving soon."  
  
Brick nodded. He thought to himself, I hope…  
  
* * *  
  
Morris was still in the back room, arguing with the technology overseer over a few parts that the overseer didn't trust Morris with, being who he was. Ronnar sat in the front of the shop, extremely bored.  
  
He looked out a window, and saw the massive smoke cloud on the hills surrounding the city. He'd normally write it off that Morris' experiments had gone wrong early in the morning, which is usually what would happen. Morris would go off by himself to a secluded hill, and test whatever he was building.  
  
…This wasn't Morris, as far as Ronnar knew.  
  
He strode over to the door where he heard Morris convincing the man to hand over the tech.  
  
"…Well, thank you again, sir."  
  
"…Yeah, but this time, don't blow it up in a week."  
  
Ronnar could almost see Morris wincing.  
  
"Well, I won't this time… I think."  
  
The door swung open, and there was Morris, with the several bundles of mechanical… stuff, that only he'd know about.  
  
"Morris, I think you need to see this…"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Just come here, and look."  
  
Morris obliged easily enough, looking out the window. Ronnar pointed at the massive amount of smoke that, by now, was almost completely filling the sky.  
  
Morris' eyes went wide.  
  
"That's not me, I know that."  
  
"Yeah, and so do I. Something is not right here."  
  
Morris sighed.  
  
"And you want to check it out, huh?"  
  
"You know it."  
  
But they never had the chance to explore what it was from afar… It decided right then to make itself known.  
  
* * *  
  
Angelique cried out as a nearby building burst into flame.  
  
"Becky, what IS that!?"  
  
Rebecca fell onto her knees as another firey projectile was flung, colliding with another of the larger buildings. She was too shocked, too busy trying to find the answer of what was going on within her mind to respond.  
  
…What could be going on? She wondered. The inventor never hurt anyone… it can't be him… something isn't right, I have to protect Angel…  
  
"Angel! Come on! We've got to find somewhere safe!"  
  
"O-okay!"  
  
* * *  
  
Catherine had spent the day helping Gertrude, the Innkeeper's wife, around the inn. At lunch, Gertrude even gave her five golds as payment.  
  
But now, with a heavy barrage coming from that smoke, Catherine was hiding with the couple, in the basement.  
  
She felt strange, hiding with them, as they cowered in the darkness… She felt she should be doing something about this… This was tyranny, she knew, somehow. This was wrong. She had to do something about this. – But something was just now banging on the door of the basement. Gertrude held her hands to her mouth, and Harold signaled for them all to keep quiet…  
  
The door swung in only slightly, before two shapes slid in quietly.  
  
"You think this is a safe place to hide?"  
  
"For now, I think…"  
  
Catherine looked up. She could still hear the blasts rock the city. She saw two girls.  
  
The first, about an inch taller than the other, had long, red hair, and a large bow dominating her head. Her eyes were a light shade of pink… unusual, but it somehow suited her.  
  
Her sister, or other relative, as Catherine now assumed, had light, blonde hair done in pigtails, and sky blue eyes. They both wore the usual cloak and robe garb that usual citizens of the city wore, although the one in blue looked like she had made hers a little more unique, cutting it on the sleeves, apparently so she could maneuver her arms better.  
  
Harold 'loudly' whispered at them, "You two! Come down here if you need a safe place to hide…"  
  
The first replied, "Thank you! We were just out in the markets…"  
  
They huddled down with the couple and Catherine. The blue-eyed girl looked at Catherine, and as cheerily as she could muster in a time of fright, said, "Hi! I'm Angelique."  
  
Catherine was startled, but shakily said back, "Uh… I'm Buttercup."  
  
* * *  
  
As the first shot collided with the first building, Brick had, strangely, instinctively ran to the nearest store, which was an item shop, and told the owner something wrong was happening. The owner didn't mind letting the family stay in his cellar with him as five more shots rang out simultaneously.  
  
Brick again ran, as if by instinct, to the nearby forge, and picked up a short sword, and then stopped…  
  
He shook his head, and looked at the sword in his hand.  
  
"What the…?"  
  
…There was an urge to fight this horrible event. He saw, from the front gates at the city, up the street, that large, burly creatures had begun to rip the gates apart.  
  
…I have to fight… Brick thought to himself. …But why do I feel this need to stop this… and suddenly, as if he had answered his own question, …oppression…  
  
He ran toward the gate, with only the short sword in his hand.  
  
* * *  
  
Ronnar and Morris ran out the machine shop, as more and more firey catapult projectiles rocked the higher buildings. They quickly opened the doors, and got into the P A T, Morris popping in the key and revving the engine almost immediately.  
  
"Remind me again… where are we going?" Ronnar yelled over the roar of the dozens of catapult shots collided with a clock tower, sending large gears into nearby upper-class homes.  
  
"Uh… I don't know… Out of here!"  
  
"…Morris… I can't stand this stuff, you know…"  
  
"No way, you almost got killed the last time you tried to fight an entire army…" Morris muttered.  
  
"…I have to, man. I've seen what happens to people…" said Ronnar, going into a state of deep thought. …Mom, why did you have to die? Dad couldn't stand up to them without you! That's why he took that gun to his head…  
  
Morris looked at Ronnar, wincing. "Sorry, man. But this is impossible…" He saw Ronnar looking down at his hands, already holding the two stones. "…Oh, man… even with those, it's still an impossible fight!"  
  
"I know, Morris… But we've got to fight."  
  
"…Oh, man…"  
  
"Drive us towards the gates…"  
  
"…Oh, man…"  
  
Morris had been moving the automobile around three blocks until this point. He could talk with Ronnar more easily as he manipulated the machine past wreckage after wreckage. Now, without verbally complying (just the occasional "…Oh, man…"), he began to turn the P A T towards the main road again… moving toward the gates.  
  
* * *  
  
Brick approached the last ten yards in front of the gate slowly, yet not trying to hide, even as he saw the gate burst open. A battalion of hideous creatures, brandishing each a whip and a scimitar (though he doubted they needed additional weapons) appeared through a strange red mist, in a loping run. The few guards they tossed aside in an instant, easily using the whips to launch them backward to make way.  
  
One with an ornate helmet, made entirely of a skull, stood erect, towering at seven feet, and shouted, "GARM! ATTACK!"  
  
The battalion, no more than 70 of the creatures, shuffled in and destroyed a large portion of the walls on either side. Through the mist Brick thought he could see a fair number of catapults, numbering no more than two and one half dozen… small compared to…  
  
What was he comparing it to? Brick shook his head, and was no more than seven yards from the monstrous band.  
  
The leader grinned, as he looked at the young man, surprised that this boy, in simple farm clothing, would even put up a fight. A few of his subordinates growled, but he stopped them.  
  
"No… I think I'll do this… purely for entertainment. GARM! Go into the city, and seize key points. Lock it down from the inside… do not kill anyone you find… that's for later." His host cackled a bit, and scampered off in all directions, even brushing against Brick, who bristled, but did nothing.  
  
The leader grinned a bit. "I am Kaim, obstinate fool. And you, you shall be yet another weakened prisoner of HIM of Wrath when I am through with you."  
  
Brick scowled at him, raising the sword. Kaim only raised up his head, and laughed, a sinister sound that seemed to pierce the air. He threw down his whip, a gesture of mocking. If possible, Brick's scowl deepened.  
  
Kaim's eyes narrowed. He raised his large, ornately decorated scimitar, his eyes glowing.  
  
Brick inhaled. He ran between the legs of the demon, ducking down, and spinning the sword behind him without looking. The demon, master combatant that he was, spun his scimitar back, albeit surprised. Brick didn't let the demon have time to think of a witty retort, rushing and slashing upwards with him at incredible speeds. The demon countered it, and he jumped back, using the demon's huge chest as a rebound, his sword ready again. The demon roared at him in rage. "INSOLENT BRAT!" he steamed, rushing Brick and slashing fiercely up and down. Brick blocked as fast as he could, yet he could feel his arms tiring…  
  
"AAHH!" he cried, looking down at his tunic, which was now stained with his own blood…  
  
The demon laughed loudly, now on the attack, stabbing and thrusting with the speed of a snake strike, Brick barely avoiding the slashes, darting back and forth. He knew full well, the demon was toying with him, and it angered him. He brutally shouted against the demon, charging his muscle strength into the blade, barely touching the ground…  
  
He felt something ancient inside him… and just like that, he jumped, higher than any normal man, and brought down the sword from above, the sword cleanly stabbed into the demon's shoulder.  
  
Kaim roared in pain and outrage. "YOU FOOL! I WILL KILL YOU!" he screeched, tossing Brick, whom now felt drained, to the ground…  
  
He raised not his scimitar, but his clawed hand itself, to cleave the young man's body…  
  
A sharp high note rang out, and all at once, shakily strands of ice began to collide with the demon, lightly freezing his arm, yet causing an incredible pain to the fire-born.  
  
Brick looked up, through his misty field of vision, as a man that looked his age launched the small, weak-looking slivery ice strands from his fingertips from a large, mechanical transport.  
  
Another man, also about his age, ran towards him, ducking, and launching small bolts of fire at Kaim, who was writhing under this unexpected assault. He felt his vision glaze over as he felt his body being dragged to the transport…  
  
* * *  
  
Morris had swerved, horrified, as a number of demonic creatures ambled past his automobile.  
  
"This is not… GAH! Exactly my… WHOA! Idea of fun, Ronnar!"  
  
Ronnar simply had kept his focus on the front, for when they had pulled near the front gates, they had seen a young man being knocked to the ground by a huge demon, that astoundingly had a sword stuck in its shoulder.  
  
"Morris, we've got to help this guy."  
  
"…How do you propose we do that?"  
  
Ronnar had only seconds to decide…  
  
"The Manites?"  
  
Morris could only agree with Ronnar, his best friend.  
  
"Alright. I hope you know what you're doing…"  
  
"I don't."  
  
"…"  
  
"But we do have to help that guy."  
  
Morris had nodded lightly, turning the transport so that its side had faced the front. He yelled at Ronnar over the sounds of demon roars that now rang out in the background, "You know how to utilize these things, right?"  
  
"Yeah, I think so."  
  
Morris had no time to think, and he had opened his door, and had begun to run towards the fallen man.  
  
Ronnar had opened his door, and over the top of the transport, launched bolt after bolt of ice at the demon, which, luckily, hadn't been expecting an elemental assault.  
  
Morris had pulled the fallen man back into the transport as fast as he could, as the demon had begun to regain its senses, picking up the scimitar.  
  
"Morris, get us out of here!"  
  
"I'm going!"  
  
He had fired the engine, the wheels had screeched against the stone road as it had turned to face the way they'd come.  
  
Now, they were racing along streets, searching for a possible hiding spot.  
  
Ronnar pointed at a large stable room near an inn.  
  
"There!"  
  
"Right!" Morris shouted, already halfway turned.  
  
They flew into the stables, dodging support beams and what few horses were left.  
  
"Morris, watch out!"  
  
Both of them yelled as he found he'd lost traction, and was careening towards a massive pile of hay.  
  
"AAAAAAHHHHH!"  
  
The transport exploded inside the hay, sending it everywhere.  
  
After about five minutes, the hay settled, covering the transport.  
  
Ronnar was gasping along with Morris, but he turned to him.  
  
"Well, uh… that wasn't so bad, was it?"  
  
Morris stared at him.  
  
"…What now?"  
  
"We hide, and find the chance to strike again?"  
  
"…Great plan."  
  
They heard a groan. The man they'd saved was waking up.  
  
  
  
Author Note: Now that was some needed action! :D Tell me, how'd I do? And don't worry, the girls will get a lot of action. 


	6. Chapter Five: Counter Attack

The Journey  
  
By: Boomer(Reborn)  
  
Chapter 5 - Counter Attack  
  
Brick sat up; eyes clenched shut in pain. His head was pounding. He remembered he had been fighting the demon. That was the last thing he could remember.  
"Hey, man. Are you alright?"  
Slowly, Brick opened his eyes. He was sitting in some sort of carriage, with two men in the front seats before him.  
"...What?"  
"We were the guys who saved you from that... thing."  
Squinting, and pulling himself into a more comfortable position in the bed of the vehicle, he looked at the two men.  
"I need a sword."  
The man with towed blonde hair and strikingly navy eyes blinked and gaped at him.  
"You want to fight again already?"  
The man next to him, whose brown cloak, which looked old and torn, was covering the lower portion of his line-etched face, grinned, his dark green eyes twinkling.  
"I like you, buddy. You've got stamina."  
As Brick was about to respond, an unearthly shriek filled their ears, inspiring some very frightened thoughts in their minds... The screaming went on for at least half a minute, and then there was silence.  
A sharp pain coursed through Brick as he tried to look around as to where they were, as soon as they were sure no one was coming. He rubbed his sore neck, trying to ease the pain.  
"Hey, Morris, wasn't there a stairwell in this area?"  
The blue-eyed man, apparently Morris, responded. "Yeah. It's somewhere to the right of the PAT."  
...This was new to Brick. He blinked. "What's a Pat?"  
"Personal Automobile Transport." Morris replied quickly. "So we get in the basement?"  
"Yeah, it's a good place to lay low for the time being."  
"...Oh, man..."  
"Oh, come off it. We've got to do something."  
"Yeah, I know, Ronnar, but... Sheesh."  
"Hey, the hay covers the PAT quite nicely, don't you think?"  
"Yeah, alright. Let's go. You coming..." Morris glanced at Brick.  
"Brick."  
"Yeah, you coming, Brick?"  
"What else is there to do?"  
"Oh, yeah, right."  
Morris got up from his seat, and walked out of the front portion of the vehicle. He opened a hatchway door in the side of the vehicle bed slowly, and only a crack, so too much hay wouldn't fall off. They each slipped out, and quietly made their way to the basement, doing their best to ignore the human screams they heard in the distance.  
  
* * *  
  
The demon Kaim was annoyed. He had shattered the ice, shrugged off the weak, sparks mortals called fire, but had been stunned. The fool had escaped. In rage, he pulled the sword gouged embedded in his shoulder away.  
"So... if they want to fight, I shall simply let phase two go early."  
Kaim reared his head back, and let loose a thundering scream in a language that sounded like maddened screams, too old for even the chronicler of these events to understand. A rough translation is provided.  
"GARM! FIND ME MEN, SO THEY MAY BE SLAVES. THOSE WHO RESIST... TAKE THEIR FAMILY; TORTURE THEIR WOMEN, CHILDREN. THOSE WITHOUT FAMILY... KILL."  
  
* * *  
  
The screaming went on for thirty seconds... and then there was a brief silence before a loud crash rang out, and for a solid minute, no one dared to breathe. Rebecca glanced at Angelique, who had a fearful, but oddly resigned look on her face. The innkeeper and his wife simply clutched at each other whispering frightened nothings to each other... But the girl who had called herself Buttercup's eyes had narrowed, as if she was daring someone to attack them. If only she knew what was going on in the girl's mind...  
  
Catherine thought she was going mad, herself. She had heard the screams... but a voice as well. It seemed to her that the roars had taken on a semblance of Redithenian. But she could hear both, as if two people were speaking. But somehow, she knew it was the demon. Both of the voices. She furrowed her brow in confusion the moment the crash rang out. Ten minutes passed, and the outer stairwell that led to the stables, where, earlier, she had helped clean some of the guests' animals, creaked open.  
A voice rang out in the dead silence, even though it was barely a whisper.  
"...This look like a good base of operations?"  
"Heh, base of operations?"  
"Well, what else should I call it?"  
"Hey, hold up."  
  
Ronnar saw Catherine, looking plainly at him, her best hard stare. She saw him. She saw him and his companions clearly, even in the dim light of the cellar... A blonde, towed-haired younger man next to him, and behind him...  
An honest, caring, handsome face...He had delicious, dirty-looking red-brown hair, and eyes similarly colored, but much darker... He looked confused and troubled by the situation... But then wasn't she? Weren't all people? He didn't notice her, he just rubbed his head and looked at Ronnar.  
"What is it?"  
"There are people here."  
"Ah, hello! I see. Hey, we're not evil... things."  
The Innkeeper Harold stood up, his knees shaking and his rather long nose looking slightly like a thick rubber pencil as it swayed. He tried his best to sound like he had command of the situation, "I'm protecting my wife and these girls."  
Ronnar smirked. "And a fine job, sir. It's a good thing you're here. Morris, I think we should ready ourselves. This is going to be a long haul."  
"...You've already made up your mind that we're going to stay?"  
"Of course!"  
"But... why?"  
"..."  
"No answer?"  
"I feel it's right, Morris. This is finally a chance to right the wrongs dealt onto my parents, if twice removed."  
"Oh, right, Ronnar. Like last time, when you got a small mercenary army on you? And you were almost killed THEN, not even including the large group of monstrosities out and about in this town."  
  
Rebecca blinked. The two men were off in a conversation, no, a world, all to themselves. He hadn't paid much attention to the third man. He was quiet and detached from the situation. She liked the man with the short, squat ponytail set in his jet-black hair. He seemed amiable enough, even when faced with possibly insurmountable odds. An entire army of... something had attacked, and he wanted to end it himself. Admirable, but utterly futile, she thought to herself. She was waiting for a low point in the argument so she could step in, but Angelique tugged her arm.  
"Ooh, he's a strapping one, isn't he?" cooed Angelique to Rebecca, noticing her stares. Rebecca ignored her. It was just Angelique's way of coping with life-threatening fear, to ease her tension.  
  
The argument was reaching a boiling point, and Catherine couldn't stand it any longer.  
"PLEASE! Those things are coming here, now! They're going to seize all men for immediate enslavement!"  
Even the Innkeeper's wife was surprised, since Catherine hadn't said much, let alone commanded the attention of a room.  
Angelique, the girl that had introduced herself previously, looked up from her sister, and said, "How is it you know that?"  
"I don't know! I heard it! The... screams we heard! I heard a voice in them. It wanted all the men to be put to work, or have their families slain..."  
Now, even the newcomers were staring at her, all with looks that said, "What?" ...Except the quiet one, he just looked at her, questioning. She felt her face flush in anger and embarrassment, but she forced herself on.  
"...It's true! If you people are serious about trying to stop this... army, whatever it is, then we need to NOT get involved in slave labor."  
"...There was screaming?" Ronnar said after a moment.  
"YES!" Catherine said, exasperated.  
The girl with red hair, of whom Angelique had named her sister, Rebecca, stood up at this point, and declared loudly, to grab attention, "I believe her, and I agree. We need to know our assets and how we can fight."  
The blonde-haired man, who Ronnar had identified as Morris, said in a moderate, but quieter tone, "This is bigger than all of us, I fear. Ronnar, I'll help you... I don't know why, but I will."  
Ronnar grinned. "I knew I could count on you, Morris."  
Rebecca continued, "What are our assets?"  
"A few RMs-" Morris began.  
Angelique's eyes grew slightly round. "Rouge Manites? Magic stones? Can you use them?"  
"...Yes. And Ronnar here has his dagger... Brick, behind him... he was fighting a really big guy before we got to him... The demon thing threw him off, and we had to use the RMs to get them of him... But he was really good. When we got him into the Personal Automobile Transport, we just floored it, and crashed in here."  
Brick shifted in pain, stepping forward to speak. "Not good enough," he said, and Catherine could see, even in the dank light, that the left side of his tunic was drenched, and crimson.  
After a moment in thought, Rebecca muttered, "Definitely not enough."  
Ronnar shrugged. "It's not like we can help it."  
"Did you learn anything when you saved...Brick, was it?"  
"...Yes."  
Ronnar shrugged. "Ah, yeah, we found out that those things do not like cold. I shot at it with the fire, and all that did was stun it... But Morris shot it clean with the ice, and that stopped it clean in its tracks, long enough for us to pull Brick, here, away."  
Rebecca furrowed her brow, "Okay, so... supplies. We need supplies."  
The Innkeeper piped up. "There should be some upstairs..."  
"Why didn't you mention that earlier?"  
"Y-your safety is above all other accounts."  
"...Right." Ronnar snickered.  
"Well? Let's go!"  
They silently slid their way up, the Innkeeper insisting on keeping his wife 'calm' and safe in the basement. Once they were well hid, they moved up the stairwell. Catherine was the one who directed them to the pantry and tool closet.  
Angelique moved to the front of the Inn, moving into the guests' nook and pantry, to collect the food, and the others moved about collecting their various essentials, Morris going to the tool closet immediately. Brick pulled several sacks out of a cabinet, and quietly went about delivering and filling various sacs. Catherine and Rebecca were up in the rooms, getting hygiene-related, and sleep-related materials. Ronnar busied himself with arguing with which tools were the most important with Morris. All of this went on almost without a sound...  
BOOM! The door slammed back and forth on its hinges, resonating loudly in the front foyer. There was a crack... the door fell over, falling to the floor with a thud. A voice, deep and horrifying, dripped with false singsong, failing abjectly to sound bouncy, blasted loudly through the doorway.  
"I'll huff... and I'll puff... and I'll blow your house in. Gwa, ha, ha..."  
  
  
  
Author Note: Wow. That was intense. I guess I'll pull out now. See you next Chapter! ^_^ 


	7. Chapter Six: Seige Engine

The Journey  
  
By: Boomer(Reborn)  
  
Chapter Six - Siege Engine  
  
Angelique froze in terror at the sound of the monster's voice... She could hear its slow, unnecessary drawing of breath. She was closest to it, being in the lower level kitchen. She whispered voicelessly to herself... mouthing the word "No", her face pale. The deep rumblings rose up again into a mockery of a voice.  
"Come out, little men... or I'll eat your children! And maybe your wife! Gwa, ha, ha... Hm."  
It sniffed loudly.  
"I smell one of you already... she's very close... Let's see if she wants to play... Come out, little girl... I only want to have a taste..."  
Angelique shivered uncontrollably, and then shook herself...   
Grabbing the broom that was strewn on the floor of the pantry, she muttered, "No, not this time... This time, you won't hurt me."  
  
Ronnar, upon hearing the voice speak again, automatically ran from the tool closet, Morris' stifled protest he totally ignored. Silently, he moved into the central hallway, just two doors away from the kitchen, and one door away from the foyer. Gripping the shadow RM, he hoped it would render him immune to the creature's obviously powerful sense of smell, and if possible, his sight. If it could smell him, it took no notice, and moved into the kitchen from the foyer.  
...No! That girl is in there, I have to help... Ronnar thought feverishly.  
  
Angelique gripped the broom quietly, sitting in the back of the pantry, to avoid being seen. The hulking form of the creature appeared in the dull red light of the fires going on around the town...   
It was the size and shape of an armored flail. It would've been at least ten feet tall, if its head had not been slanted over, jutted out with a mouth full of slavering fangs. But already, it was seven feet tall, and slightly rounded and bulky, every muscle tightly compacted, designed to absorb any physical attack and rebound against it. Curved spikes swept up its joints, all across his body, and all across his short, club-ended tail. A short, squat head wreathed in black breath coming from his mouth and nostrils with short horns shooting out of his chin and cheeks topped off his horrid demeanor, his eyes glowing a deep, continual crimson. He carried no weapon, obviously designed to enforce and terrorize, not to outright kill.  
"Gwa, ha, ha... I see you..."  
He stomped over the cutting board tables, smashing them and standing at the front of the pantry.  
"Why don't you come out and play?" grumbled the beast, mockery swelling in his voice.  
  
Rebecca had looked at Catherine and Brick in horror as she heard the creature bellow that it smelled a girl. A few moments later, a loud crash rang out. She ran down the stairs, quickly followed by Brick. Catherine looked at the door in a fluster, and ran after them.  
  
Morris, flustered when Ronnar ran from the room, gathered his thoughts in a split second after the crash reverberated, and ran past the stairs to see for a moment, the others coming down to follow him. They spread out among the hallway, Rebecca looking into the foyer before moving into it, Brick and Buttercup peering around the kitchen doorway in horror, Brick only staying for a moment before running back to the tool closet, muttering "...Sword..."  
  
Angelique's mind was spinning. ...He's coming to get me! He's going to hurt me! Please don't let him hurt me. Please, Daddy, no! Please don't... Her mind was filling with horrible memories, her psyche injured so deeply. She suddenly stood up, fear shining as her eyes began to well up with tears, but still standing resolute.  
"You won't hurt me!" She cried, gripping the broom expertly, maneuvering it like the bo staff she had come to use at her home.  
"Spirit. Gwa ha. Give up, girl, and it will end quickly." It creaked, slamming the doorframe sides wider, so it had room to corner her. It reached forward with one massive clawed arm.  
"NO!" she cried, releasing her pent-up energy. She moved to launch herself up as she had been taught, catching the wall with the broom's head, and kicking off the beast's skull, rolling between the narrow opening he had left between his head and the cracked doorframe top.  
"What?!" screeched the demon, turning astoundingly swiftly in the cracked doorframe to face her reaching out with both hands to grab her with his thick, rounded talons.  
She was ready, catching his claws with the tip of the broom on one end, and using the broom's head to deflect the force in his punch to the side on the other. She jumped back to kick off the fireplace arch, and vaulted forward onto the creature's skull, effortlessly pulling back to run while the creature was stunned.  
Except that it wasn't. He screamed in indignation and rushed toward her, but was halted, as something was weighing down his tail. He turned to see a shadowy wisp gripping onto it, reeking the stench of magic. With but a compacted recoil of the force used to hold his tail down, he lobbed the wisp onto one of the high cabinets, and turned away, to face the girl.  
The wisp fell to the ground, dropping the Manite, revealing a stunned and dazed Ronnar, who, though momentarily out, had the sense to look up as the demon once again engaged the girl.  
He was amazed to see her deflecting and rebounding the demon's attacks against her almost as well as it rebounded her own. She flew across the room, moving seamlessly from kick-point to kick-point, keeping the demon turning and using its arms and tail to try and catch her. She was improvising, and doing so beautifully, but when her eyes came into view, her fear was plainly visible, but focused far away, as if the situation reminded her of something...  
Ronnar leaped up, and charged the stone again, launching bolts of the shadow out to ensnare the huge demon. It roared at him, momentarily held back by the onslaught, before jumping and slamming his way almost through the floor into the basement, knocking Ronnar over and pinning him under the broken debris of the cutting board table.   
Rebecca ran into the room at that moment, avoiding the chaos for a moment to run to the ruined pantry. Ronnar looked at her in confusion, and in that moment, the demon jumped fully out of the coil of shadows, and started towards him.   
Angelique leaned against the broom, clearly fatigued, and Buttercup ran into the opposite end of the kitchen, grabbing her and helping support her. Morris followed her, and gave the girl Buttercup the reprieve she needed, helping Angelique when Buttercup took the broom, and, quite unexpectedly, jumped over the demon and laid a dizzying blow to his head. One that actually stopped the demon's frontal offense.   
Moving quickly and swiftly, with all the look of a highly trained veteran, her own movements frightening herself, but only just before she lost herself to the continual melee she had engaged herself in. Her mind shut down in the frenzy of blocking and attacking, the demon and herself a whirlwind.  
  
Rebecca was busy gathering the ingredients for an explosive combination of alcohol and oil. She heard crash after crash, gathering a bottle of old whiskey, a candlewick, some lamp oil, and a cork, her hands feverishly but gingerly preparing the low-grade explosive.  
  
Ronnar looked up at the girl Buttercup, amazingly keeping pace and sometimes exceeding that of the demons, flowing like the water of a steady river against a stone, moving and attacking continually. Slowly, he noticed the demon gained the upper hand as he changed his attack angles to move towards her face.  
"LOOK OUT!"  
The demon reared back and spun, his tail colliding with the girl's face. The blow knocked the girl to the ground. She looked up, clenching her eyes in pain. At that point, someone stood over her.  
The Innkeeper, holding a short sword, and positively trembling faced the demon. "L-leave here!" The sword he pointed at the demon was wriggling like a worm.  
The demon, in a rush of his victory, laughed. "Yes. This house must not be spared for all the resistance it has put up. Yes... I will leave, after I have killed each and every one of you. Gwa, ha, ha..."  
With that, he reached out and grabbing the Innkeeper threw him over his shoulder against the wall, which, dropping his short sword, fell unconscious. He now slowly flexed himself, cracking his joints and chuckling menacingly to himself. He rose to his full height, towering over Catherine, who thought at this point she was simply going to die.  
"I think... I will start with you, you annoying little fly."  
"Leave her alone."  
The demon spun around, almost crushing Catherine's right leg. Brick had crept into the room quietly, and, trading the broken saw he had planned to use as a sword substitute, stood up to face the demon. In one hand, the sword, in the other, he carried a large metal mallet.  
At this point, the demon screamed out.  
"MORE RESISTANCE? YOU ALL WILL DIE SLOWLY!"  
It launched itself toward him, and with all the force he felt he could use, Brick slammed the mallet into the demon, which simply grabbed the mallet to stop the blow, and reached out to bite down on Brick.  
With a flashing sweep, Brick turned the sword inward, and on the flat to catch the thing's brunt head before it bit down on his other arm. Spinning, he slammed the hammer into the things back, using it as a pressed grip to ratchet himself onto the creature's back, pulling the sword out and stabbing it into the creature's side. The demon roared, and swung his tail into Brick's stomach from the opposite side, knocking him off the beast's back, and winding him slightly. The demon spun, and rushed forward to grab Brick, who blocked one claw swipe with a cross of the sword and hammer, but got a deep, serrated gash on his other arm's upper portion.  
"Argh!" Brick cried out, leaping back. The demon smirked at him. Again, Brick felt something inside him burst forth. Something that felt old... and enraged.  
"You wish to combat ME, LITTLE HUMAN!?" the demon bellowed at him, all the while moving one claw up for a recoil to break any block that Brick attempted.  
"No, I don't. But you force me to, and for that, you deserve NO REMORSE!" Brick shouted defiantly, sliding forward and tripping himself backwards purposely, with inhuman balance, moving under the otherwise devastating slash without truly falling onto the floor, and stabbing the sword upward into the demon's stomach.  
A shocked look fell over the demon as the sword went deep. Brick pushed further in, and stood up, pushing the demon onto its back, and moving away, to look at Buttercup, who hadn't taken her eyes off him. He held out his hand.  
"Are you alright?"  
Catherine's thoughts were so full of emotion she thought she would burst. Relief, happiness, and fear, that even now was being diffused. And something she didn't recognize... a light-headed ache that she didn't want to end, though she couldn't bear any more of it.  
"...I think so." She said wearily, taking his hand.  
Morris had gotten Angelique out of the room, and against the hallway wall facing the kitchen in the chaos, and now, having turned around soon enough to see Brick's clean kill, was astounded.  
"How... haba... what the? You..."  
  
Rebecca was aware of the quiet, and the spoken words that went on, but kept working, because the explosives at any time would be valuable. She had made four so far.  
  
Brick, dropping his sword, helped Buttercup move to the side of the room, away from the demon's inert form, and sat down with her, both of them quietly recouping from the previous excursion. Ronnar moaned loudly, attempting to get some help out from under the boards. Morris muttered, "Some help you were, Ronnar," as he shuffled over to lift the table.  
"Me? What about you?"  
"I was helping a comrade, not getting stuck under a table!"  
"Bah, you and I both know you would've died if it wasn't for me."  
They looked at each other and laughed the laugh two good friends share after a successful mischievous thrill. But their laughter was cut short, when the demon's assumed dead body growled, and stood up.  
"I WILL CRUSH YOU ALL!" he screamed, grabbing the sword, murder in his glowing eyes. He took one bounding step forward...  
"DUCK!" Rebecca shouted, running out of the pantry. Morris dived behind the table with Ronnar, Angelique shuffling wearily but quickly down the hallway, and Brick rolled himself and Buttercup back behind some of the debris obediently. Rebecca hurled a bottle at the demon, and hurled herself inside the pantry's cracking doorway.  
An explosion ripped through the room, followed by a blood-curdling scream. The smoke cleared, and Rebecca looked into the room. Everything in the direct path of the explosion was blackened and charred, and all that remained of the demon were bits and pieces that were strewn about the floor, walls, and ceiling.  
Angelique crawled into the room, visibly shaken, and stood up.   
"...N-nice job, sis!"  
Rebecca emerged from the crushed pantry door, one side of her slimmed, long skirt and large red hair bow slightly scorched.  
"Thanks."  
Ronnar stood up. "WHOO! That was intense."  
Brick stood up, and again offered his hand to Catherine. Her heart pounded, and still she couldn't figure out the reason she had this light-headed feeling when she looked at him. As she was pulled up, Brick looked at Ronnar. "So, now that we can get our supplies uninterrupted, what now?"  
Morris muttered to himself, and then mouthed the words behind Ronnar as he said them.  
"Now, the hard part begins." 


End file.
